Well, I'm finally here and not too busy or too sick to do this. I arrived in Morocco eleven days ago (does NOT feel like it has been that long). I took the same travel route as last time, by air to Casablanca, then a train the Fes. This time, I actually enjoyed the train ride because I wasn't lost or relying on someone else to guide me. At least I enjoyed the parts I was awake for, which wasn't much because I wasn't able to sleep much on the planes. Once in Fes, I was met by Anas, one of the AUI student ambassadors, and we drove the fifty minutes or so into the Mountains to Iraine and Al Akhawayn (holy shit, I spelled that right without checking) University.
Its an incredibly beautiful campus. Im having trouble getting the images off my iPod, so I'll try and post them later. The town is very pretty too. All of us international student have been enjoying the few bars in town, especially one that everyone calls "Aggies". No one is sure what the real name is. Aggamem? Aggamemnon? Apparently theres also a club in town that has "Ladies night" thats very popular with the students, but I didn't go.
So after I got here, I had a day to sleep in, adjust, and get my bearings. After that, 4 days of orientation. After that, classes started. And the night before classes started, I got violently ill for about 24 hours, followed by three days of horrible indigestion and stomach cramps. So I only made it to three out of five classes this week. But I did finally get to experience nationalized healthcare firsthand! I went to the Health Center on Campus with my RA, who translated, explained my issues, saw a doctor in 20 minutes, got medicine, and left. It was almost too fast. Its like my brain thinks the medicine I got isn't real medicine because it didn't involve a huge hassle and a copay.
I barely got well in time enough to go to Fes yesterday. Same city I lived in a year ago. I even recognized a vendor or two on the streets. Went back to Cafe Clock. One thing that had changed was the number of tourists. I saw almost a dozen people walking around with the Lonely Planet Morocco books in hand. I was always surprised when I saw a tourist last year. Not the same yesterday.
Ive written a lot here and I need to finish my horribly boring reading for State and Society Europe. Im going to try and do this to least once a week. Later!
P.S. I know someone will ask, so FYI: "Another Station, Another Mile" is a line from a Rise Against song called "The Dirt Whispered". Jeff knows what I'm talking about.
